is a scholar interested in the academic and personal literacy practices that support adolescents through a sensitive developmental period marked by identity exploration, that in turn provides the foundation for behavior and self-conceptualization in adulthood. Her current work explores how social media impacts adolescent consumption and interpretation of information used to inform the development of civic identities and political ideology. Past work has explored the impact of social media use on self-esteem and identity development through the lens of possible self ideation.

Rachel Besharat Mann brings an interdisciplinary lens to the College of Education Studies at Wesleyan University, with experience teaching social studies in the New York City Public School system and having obtained degrees in education and developmental psychology.  

Prior to her appointment at Wesleyan University in 2021, Besharat Mann was a doctoral student at Fordham University and an adjunct professor of educational psychology. She also served as a research consultant for Digital Promise, an educational non-profit, developing research based models of literacy pedagogy to address learner differences.